MCP Server Integration¶

The SkoveNet controller ships with a built-in Model Context Protocol (MCP) server, allowing AI assistants such as Claude Desktop, Cursor, and any other MCP-compatible client to interact with the network directly.

How It Works¶

The MCP server uses the standard stdio transport (JSON-RPC 2.0 over stdin/stdout). When launched with the --mcp flag, the controller replaces the interactive CLI with a machine-readable protocol session. The controller must be connected to a running local agent.

AI Client (Claude Desktop, etc.)
        │  JSON-RPC 2.0 over stdio
        ▼
  controller --mcp
        │  Unix socket IPC
        ▼
     agent (local)
        │  P2P mesh
        ▼
  remote peers

Usage¶

Starting the MCP Server¶

The agent must be running first. Then start the controller in MCP mode:

./controller --mcp

The process will read JSON-RPC requests from stdin and write responses to stdout — the client manages the process lifecycle.

Claude Desktop Configuration¶

Add to your claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "skovenet": {
      "command": "/path/to/controller",
      "args": ["--mcp"]
    }
  }
}

After restarting Claude Desktop, SkoveNet tools will appear in the tools panel.

Available Tools¶

Tool	Description
`get_node_id`	Returns the local agent's node ID
`list_peers`	Lists all peer IDs currently connected to the mesh
`use_peer`	Sets the active peer target for subsequent commands
`send_command`	Executes a shell command on a peer and returns output
`radar_scan`	Scans the network for reachable nodes and returns latency results

Tool Details¶

`get_node_id`¶

Returns the local node's libp2p Peer ID. No arguments required.

`list_peers`¶

Returns a formatted list of all peers currently connected to the local agent. No arguments required.

`use_peer`¶

Sets the default target peer for send_command calls.

Argument	Type	Required	Description
`peer_id`	string	✅	Full peer ID to set as active target

Returns an error if the peer is not found in the current peer list.

`send_command`¶

Executes a command on a remote peer via the mesh.

Argument	Type	Required	Description
`command`	string	✅	Shell command to execute (e.g. `whoami`, `ls /tmp`)
`peer_id`	string	❌	Override peer; uses active peer from `use_peer` if omitted
`timeout_sec`	integer	❌	Seconds to wait for output (default: `15`)

`radar_scan`¶

Initiates a 3-second network scan and returns all discovered nodes sorted by latency, including signal quality ratings (EXCELLENT / GOOD / FAIR / WEAK / POOR). No arguments required.

Example Session¶

A typical AI-assisted recon flow:

get_node_id → confirm I'm connected to the right agent
list_peers → see available targets
use_peer with a chosen peer ID
send_command whoami → confirm identity on target
send_command ls /home → browse the filesystem
radar_scan → discover additional nodes

Notes¶

The --mcp flag is mutually exclusive with the interactive CLI; there is no shared state between MCP sessions and CLI sessions.
Each MCP session maintains its own active peer selection, independent of other sessions.
The agent must already be running before launching the controller in MCP mode.